In a communication system, a transmitting mobile station, i.e. a source mobile station, communicates with a receiving mobile station, i.e., a destination mobile station, in cellular communication mode or P2P communication mode. The source mobile station communicates with the destination mobile station through a base station in the cellular communication mode, whereas the source mobile station communicates directly with the destination mobile station without the aid of a base station in the P2P communication mode.
The P2P communication mode is available when the source mobile station and the destination mobile station are within the same cell or the destination mobile station is located within a maximum distance from the source mobile station over which a signal from the source mobile station can reach the destination mobile station. Compared to the cellular communication mode, the P2P communication mode offers the benefit of high system efficiency.
For a cellular-based mobile station to operate in the P2P communication mode, the P2P communication mode should be initialized. However, the P2P communication mode initialization is viable only if the source mobile station has knowledge of the location of the destination mobile station. Therefore, there exists a need for a method for acquiring information about the location of the destination mobile station by the source mobile station.